Speaking of Marquis Weiyuan's love of alcohol, everyone in the Great Chu State knew about it. He could only eat if there was alcohol with his three meals a day. He almost froze to death in the wild while drunk on a snowy night, and the first thing he did when he woke up was to drink. He really didn't cry until he saw the coffin. He had made great military achievements and saved the life of the late emperor three times. Although he is now recuperating in the capital and it is unknown when he will be able to return to the southeast garrison, he is still a person that no one dares to provoke. In his hand he holds a golden whip, which was given to him by the late emperor before his death. With it he can beat tyrants and punish treacherous ministers, and he has great power.
In order to please him, every visitor would bring him a jar of good wine. If the wine was delicious, he would talk happily. If the wine was of poor quality, he would kick the other person out immediately. The method of climbing up to Weiyuan Hou seems simple, but it is not. He went to war with his father when he was eight years old and killed someone for the first time when he was nine. That night he drank the strongest liquor in the world and got drunk. From then on he became addicted to alcohol. It has been thirty years now and he has tasted countless amounts of alcohol.
He had long since looked down upon ordinary fine wines, and had drunk a great deal of fine liquor, so it was almost impossible to satisfy his appetite.
In order to please Marquis Weiyuan, the bearded man spent countless amounts of money to buy wine in private, but always to no avail. Unexpectedly, he would meet the shopkeeper Lin, who had amazing craftsmanship, by chance, and get a jar of the legendary Thousand-Day Wine for free. He could hardly suppress his ecstasy. He hurried and arrived in the capital three days later. Without even looking for an inn to rest, he immediately went to pay a visit to the Weiyuan Marquis's residence.
There were at least dozens of people who came to the Marquis's mansion every day to deliver wine and drinks. How could the butler let them all in? He just took the jar of wine and sent the bearded man away. The bearded man repeatedly instructed and warned, saying that this was a thousand-day wine, very rare, and asked the butler to make sure to deliver it to the marquis personally. The butler agreed verbally, but turned around and stuffed the wine into a warehouse specially used to store wine.
The jar was only the size of a palm, and it wasn't even full of wine yet. It felt so light in my hand, it was really uglier! These gift-givers are becoming more and more ignorant! After leaving the warehouse, the butler cursed the bearded man in his heart, but immediately forgot about it. So the jar of wine was quietly placed on the shelf, gathering dust, and no one came to see it.
On the other side, Lin Dan's convoy continued to move along the official road. Three strong men were always guarding on both sides to prevent any further accidents. After breakfast, they wanted to have lunch. After lunch, they eagerly waited for dinner. After dinner, they ran to ask Manager Lin if there was any midnight snack. Their life was really comfortable. Going on a mission was originally an extremely dangerous thing. The three of them traveled back and forth for several months and lost more than 10 to 20 pounds. But now, they have made up for it with the skillful feeding of Shopkeeper Lin, and their faces are rosier than each other.
Four days later, the convoy arrived at the outskirts of Beijing, and another half day's walk would take them to the West City Gate. Lin Dan stopped in a small town and said goodbye to several strong men. A few of them were reluctant to leave, saying they would help Manager Lin to the end and bring her back to the capital in one piece. But in fact, they were reluctant to part with her good craftsmanship and started to act like scoundrels.
Lin Dan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but couldn't refuse, so she had to let them stay.
"Mom, I'm back!" She brought a group of people to a small farmyard. There were some vegetables planted in the yard, a group of chickens and ducks, and red and white roses blooming. It looked very warm.
"Dan'er, you're finally back!" Qi, who looked much older, ran out of the house with tears in her eyes. In the early years, she could still follow her daughter around to learn skills, but later when her health deteriorated, she was sent back to the capital to recuperate. But although the capital city is big, she would meet the people she was destined to meet sooner or later. One day, she met the second brother's family on the street. The second brother informed Zhou and Yan Shouye, who then hired thugs to cause trouble every day, forcing her to almost jump into the well.
She couldn't understand why these people wanted to force her and her daughter to death after they had already taken away all her husband's things. However, the evil of human nature was unpredictable. She had no choice but to retreat and settle here, where she lived a peaceful life for a few years.
"Mom, please pack up your things. We'll rest here for a few days and then go back to the capital." Lin Dan picked up the gourd ladle and scooped water for everyone to drink.
"Going back to the capital?" Qi was a little timid. She was really frightened by Zhou and Yan Shouye. She no longer had the courage to take back the family property.
"Go back, of course I will." Lin Dan's tone was light, but his expression was very firm. She had sworn that she would help the original owner to revive the Lin family and to clear Lin Baotian's reputation. How could she not fulfill her promise? After ten years of traveling, this place has become her home country. The original owner's life is also her life, so the original owner's responsibilities are naturally also her responsibilities.
"Okay, I'll go pack up now. I've been raising the chickens and ducks outside for more than two months. You can grab whatever you want to eat." Qi turned back to the bedroom. Lin Dan rolled up his sleeves and said, "We'll have Dong'an chicken and Yongzhou blood duck for lunch today."
Everyone responded enthusiastically and then got busy.
Lin Dan put the slaughtered chickens and ducks into a bucket and scalded them with boiling water to make it easier to pluck the feathers. The handsome man stood beside her, lowered his eyes and asked, "You and your mother have been wandering around for so many years?"
"Yes." Lin Dan put the plucked chicken and duck feathers into a bamboo basket for preservation. Chicken feathers can be made into feather dusters, and the fine down of duck feathers can be stuffed into clothes to keep warm, both are good things.
The man stared at her bun for a long time, and finally couldn't help asking, "What about your husband? Why isn't he by your side?"
Lin Dan looked up in surprise, as if she had not expected the man to pry into her privacy. He seemed to be a very taciturn and cold person, and he probably wouldn't be interested in other people's private affairs. However, there was nothing to hide, so he said frankly, "I'm not married yet, so where would I get a husband? I wore a bun to make it easier to go out. You can see that my only relative is my mother. If I get married, what will she do when she's helpless? Besides, I've been away from home all year round to learn skills, and I've been displaced and homeless, so I can't find a husband to marry me."
After she finished speaking, she smiled lightly and said in an open-minded manner: "It's good now. I've survived the most difficult days. What do I have to be afraid of in the future? I just need to teach a few good apprentices, and I won't be afraid that no one will take care of me in my old age for the rest of my life." When she said this, she seemed to remember something bad, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed, and finally she sighed with regret.
The man's brows were tightly knitted, as if he had a lot to say but didn't know how to start. He took the chickens and ducks and plucked them carefully. Seeing that Lin Dan had nothing to do and wanted to light a fire, he immediately said in a deep voice, "Go back to the house and have a rest. Have a good talk with your mother. Leave the work outside to us."
Lin Dan looked into the room and found that Qi was looking at him eagerly, so he smiled and agreed. This man looks cold, but he is actually very kind-hearted and a good person.
After lunch, Lin Dan sent Qi back to the house to rest, and he went out to visit guests with a small gift box. The handsome man followed her immediately because he was afraid that she might be in danger.
Lin Dan heard the footsteps and looked back, and couldn't help but smile.
The man stared at her bright smile, his eyes flickering.
The two of them didn't talk along the way, but they didn't feel dull or awkward. Instead, they felt extremely relaxed and comfortable. After going around a few bends and turning onto an official road, we saw a post station on the side of the road. Outside the post station was a thatched hut. A middle-aged woman was busy in the hut, and her hoarse shouts could be heard from a long distance away.
Lin Dan walked closer, bowed and asked, "Sister Wang, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing recently? Why isn't Aunt Wang in the store?"
"Who are you?" The middle-aged woman was stunned for a moment before she said, "Oh, I remember, you are the little girl who worked for my family for free! You have grown up so big in ten years!" Lin Dan was short and tiny back then, but she was very hardworking. She could carry more than 100 kilograms of beans on one shoulder, which left a deep impression on the middle-aged woman.
Lin Danlian said it was me, and patiently asked about the old woman's situation. The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes, as if she was very disdainful of her own mother-in-law. No matter what Lin Dan asked, she just didn't answer. Lin Dan had no choice but to buy two bowls of tofu balls from her and gave her five more cents. Only then did he find out that the old woman was selling food not far ahead and it would take only fifteen minutes to walk there.
The tofu balls still taste the same, which shows that the middle-aged woman spent ten years and finally learned her mother-in-law's cooking skills. But for some reason, she opened a separate shop from her mother-in-law.
Lin Dan walked along the way and asked passers-by about the situation, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Aunt Wang treated her son and daughter-in-law sincerely, but they turned against her. After learning her skills, they proposed to divide the family. Not only did they force their mother and underage brother to move out and live on their own, they also took away the store that the family depended on for their livelihood.
Aunt Wang's restaurant had already gained a reputation, and as it was located next to the post station, it had customers every day, so naturally business was good. Now she has opened a new store in a remote location. With the same taste and the same price, customers will of course choose to patronize the familiar place. Over time, her daughter-in-law has completely replaced her.
She now has a meager income. Her youngest son broke his leg a few years ago and had no money to treat it, so he has become disabled. Life is really difficult. When Lin Dan arrived, he saw Aunt Wang carrying water. Her son limped forward to greet her and wanted to put the heavy carrying pole on his shoulders, but was stopped by his mother. The two of them started to argue with each other, their eyes were a little red, but their eyes were full of love and care for each other.
Seeing this scene, Lin Dan felt sad. Without saying a word, he walked over, snatched the shoulder pole, picked up the bucket, and strode into the store. The handsome man was stunned for a moment before he quickly stepped forward, lifted up the heavy bucket, poured it into the water tank, and then took the shoulder pole and whispered, "Where is the water source? I'll go get it, you take a rest."
"It's at the foot of the mountain, just follow this path." Lin Dan had been here for three months, carrying hundreds of pounds of water back and forth every day, so he naturally knew where the water source was.
The man nodded and left without saying a word. Aunt Wang finally came back to her senses after being stunned. She said with surprise, "You are Xiaodan? My dear, where have you been all these years? I couldn't find you anywhere!"
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